Rhun ap Iorwerth backs scrapping Welsh Secretary post

Martin Shipton

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has implied strongly that the role of Secretary of State for Wales should be scrapped.

Asked by journalist Matt Chorley whether the post was still necessary, Mr ap Iorwerth said: “I would argue that it probably isn’t. There is a role for it as a conduit on some matters but I’ll make it as clear as I can that I want my ministers to be dealing with ministers in relevant departments in the UK government rather than going through a secretary state for Wales.

“Now if you have a Secretary of State for Wales, and I hope Stephen Kinnock will consider this to be his role, and can facilitate those discussions and not be a barrier in any way, we’ll good we’ll use it in that way but it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s a role that’s rather different to what is was pre-devolution.”

In expressing doubts about the need for a Welsh Secretary, the First Minister is echoing the views of quite a few politicians before him.

In the immediate aftermath of the narrow referendum Yes vote in 1999 to set up what is now the Senedd, there was a serious suggestion that the Secretaries of State for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland should be scrapped and replaced by a single Cabinet post representing all three devolved nations.

But the idea was rejected, and successive governments have continued to appoint separate Secretaries of State for all three countries.

Criticism has not abated, however, especially since Brexit, with the UK Government being accused of seeking to roll back devolution by grabbing back powers that had been passed to the three devolved governments.

Rather than being Wales’ representative at the Cabinet table, the Secretary of State has increasingly been seen as Westminster’s representative in Wales.

Since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, the conventional view among academics and other political observers has been that successive Prime Ministers have used their Secretaries of State as a means of keeping the devolved governments in check.

Many members of Welsh Labour were angered that Jo Stevens, Keir Starmer’s appointment as Secretary of State for Wales, appeared to be continuing the perceived anti-devolution line pursued by her Tory predecessors. In recent weeks there was a particularly egregious example of this when the UK Government and the Secretary of State for Wales deliberately refrained from notifying the Welsh Government until the very last moment about a scheme to provide grants to news outlets.

Agreeing

Following ap Iorwerth’s call for the Secretary of State for Wales to be wound up, a number of politicians wrote social media posts agreeing to such a move.

Others concentrated on the logistics of contact between the UK and Welsh governments.

Jeff Jones, a former Labour leader of Bridgnd council, wrote: “Basically Rhun ap Iorwerth wants Welsh Ministers to be in the same position as Metro Mayors and their cabinet members who also deal directly with UK government ministers.”

Former Cardiff West Labour MP Lord Kevin Brennan posted a message that said: “Welsh Ministers have always dealt directly with their UK counterparts – it’s been the practice for years.”

Andy Burnham’s decision to appoint Secretaries of State in the three devolved nations suggests that the status quo is likely to remain for the foreseeable future.

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